Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2011 Apr;40(3):255-64.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2010.11.010. Epub 2011 Jan 26.

A randomized controlled trial of fluoxetine in the treatment of cocaine dependence among methadone-maintained patients

Erin L Winstanley  1 , George E Bigelow, Kenneth Silverman, Rolley E Johnson, Eric C Strain
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

A randomized controlled trial of fluoxetine in the treatment of cocaine dependence among methadone-maintained patients

Erin L Winstanley et al. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2011 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Cocaine abuse and dependence continue to be widespread. Currently, there are no pharmacotherapies shown to be effective in the treatment of cocaine dependence.

Methods: A 33-week outpatient clinical trial of fluoxetine (60 mg/day, po) for cocaine dependence that incorporated abstinence-contingent voucher incentives was conducted. Participants (N = 145) were both cocaine and opioid dependent and treated with methadone. A stratified randomization procedure assigned subjects to one of four conditions: fluoxetine plus voucher incentives (FV), placebo plus voucher incentives (PV), fluoxetine without vouchers (F), and placebo without vouchers (P). Dosing of fluoxetine/placebo was double blind. Primary outcomes were treatment retention and cocaine use based on thrice-weekly urine testing.

Results: The PV group had the longest treatment retention (M = 165 days) and lowest probability of cocaine use. The adjusted predicted probabilities of cocaine use were 65% in the P group, 60% in the F group, 56% in the FV group, and 31% in the PV group.

Conclusions: Fluoxetine was not efficacious in reducing cocaine use in patients dually dependent on cocaine and opioids.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest relevant to this study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Study Phases
Figure 2
Figure 2. Study Profile
Figure 3
Figure 3. Kaplan-Meier Survival Estimates of Treatment Retention by Treatment Group in the ITT Sample (n=145)
Note: Survival was defined as remaining in treatment through the end of week 18.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Comparison of Predicated Probabilities of Cocaine Use Comparing Qualitative Urine Toxicology, Quantitative Urine Toxicology, and Self-Reports by Treatment Group
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Batki SL, Manfredit LB, Jacob P, Jones RT. Fluoxetine for cocaine dependence in methadone maintenance: Quantitative plasma and urine cocaine/benzoylecgonine concentrations. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 1993;13:243–250. - PubMed
    1. Batki SL, Washburn AW, Delucchi K, Jones RT. A controlled trial of fluoxetine in crack cocaine dependence. Drug Alc Depend. 1996;41:137–142. - PubMed
    1. Beck AT, Ward CH, Mendelson M, Mock J, Erbaugh J. An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of Gen Psychiatry. 1961;4:561–571. - PubMed
    1. Brower KK, Carey TL. Racially related health disparities and alcoholism treatment outcomes. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2003;27(8):1365–7. - PubMed
    1. Durta L, Stathopoulou G, Basden SL, Leyro TM, Powers MB, Otto MW. A meta-analytic review of psychosocial interventions for substance use disorders. Am J Psychiatry. 2008;165(2):179–187. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms